Staff had good interactions with all wolves. Shadow and Malik's incisions are look good, but there is still a little bruising. Malik started play biting at Lakota's neck, instantly Shadow joined in with more intensity. Mackenzie came over and Shadow stopped immediately.
Medical exams began at 10 am and were completed by 2 pm. Everything went extremely well. The main tasks during the exam included: – Complete blood chemistry – Extensive physical examination – Dentition examination – Body weights and measurements – Determination of the pigmentation loss in Lucas's nose, lips and pads – Shadow and Malik were neutered Everything went extremely well, we even had enough time to get hip x-rays on Lucas and Mackenzie, as their hips seem to be more troublesome with age. A detailed analysis of the exam will be presented in the Fall issue of International Wolf Magazine. The weights of the pack are as follows: Alpha Male – Lucas 93.2 lbs Alpha Female – Mackenzie 95.2 lbs Omega Female – Lakota 92.0 lbs Yearling Male – Malik 86.5 lbs Yearling Male – Shadow 87.3 lbs
Shadow growled and snapped at JW, possibly redirecting from an interaction with Mackenzie. Otherwise good interaction with all. LS applied antibiotic to Lakota's hind quarter, no new bites, but healing older scars. Lakota allowed for a complete examination with no tenderness. LS noticed a bite wound on Mackenzie's right eye and on her hind quarters. Mackenzie growled at Shadow several times when Shadow approached, probably the source of Mackenzie's bites.
Lakota was isolated in holding area for treatment of her bite wound. Her condition was much improved and she was far more relaxed when Lori Schmidt (LS) conducted a physical exam. The wound is healing nicely and she has stopped licking at the site. Again, when Lakota was released from the holding pen, Shadow entered the pen and cornered Lakota. LS blocked the pups attempts to pin Lakota and moved them out of the holding pen. LS then isolated the pups in an adjacent holding pen and again opened Lakota's holding pen door to release her back into the main enclosure. This time, Mackenzie came into the holding pen and dominated Lakota, but LS was able to distract Mackenzie and allow Lakota a chance to exit the enclosure. Once Lakota was safely back in the main enclosure, the pups were released. Shadow immediately chased Lakota into the den, but did not physically grab her, wolf care staff will be more actively monitoring the interactions of these two wolves.
Lakota's wounds have all healed and she appears to be relaxed and approaching the handlers more often. Janice Templeton, the former wolf curator spent some time with the wolves over the Christmas break. All wolves were very receptive to her visit and they all received a significant amount of her attention. Overall, the pack has been really calm since the Christmas day incident.
Even though our exhibit provides a heated self-filling water bowl in the enclosure, the wolves still prefer to eat snow. They do consume water and staff is mindful of dehydration issues, but the preference for a wolf is to take a mouthful of fresh snow or lick ice in the exhibit. Shadow’s been doing extremely well as Maya’s behavior has been adding confidence to his status. His video this week shows that look of confidence as he keeps watch from the top of the den, with his ears pricked forward alert to any possible threat to the pack. It is encouraging to see him so confident, his attributes as a pack leader are critical to the next pup introduction.
The text for all the wolves will be the same. The wolves are enjoying the deer scraps donated by local deer hunters, with scraps arriving daily and wolves feeding opportunities on the increase. This is the time of the year when resources are plentiful at the International Wolf Center. Vermilion Community College student, Nick Budzien, made a trip to the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake Minnesota, where they graciously donated 24 road kill deer to help feed our wolves over the winter. Road kill are much more plentiful in the urban areas in southern Minnesota, than the more remote forested regions of Ely. We do get local road kill, but not in the volume that will sustain the wolves through the winter. The weather is moderately cool, ranging between 20 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit, ideal for both wolves and wolf care staff.
Before wolf care staff enter the enclosure, it’s important for them to observe the body language and behavior of the pack before entering. Staff members don’t want to walk in on any active dominance session and find themselves dealing with more than a regular wolf check. This occurred on Friday, November 2nd. When we arrived for wolf care, Shadow was staying toward the back of the pen with very submissive ears, when staff entered the enclosure, he was reluctant to come down for a greeting, but after a few minutes, he seemed to relax and interact. Grizzer had some excitement levels with staff, so he seemed pretty clear that the issue was probably between Grizzer and Shadow. In contrast to Malik who gets more aggressive in defense, Shadow seems to get more subdued when Grizzer tests him. This will be something interesting to watch in the upcoming months.
We are pleased to report that Shadow seems to have recovered well. He still joins in when Grizzer and Maya chase each other around the enclosure, against the wishes of the staff that care for him. We would rather he take it easy and remember he’s nearing 8 years of age, but he’s a dominant wolf that displays the social behavior of a leader. We want to emphasize how important Shadow is to this upcoming pup introduction. We are excited to see Shadow confident, healthy and in a leadership role, and the bond between Shadow and Maya is a great demonstration of the social pack behavior inherent in wolves. Speaking of socialization, the Nanny applications will be posted on the website after January 1st. Pup nannies are chosen through a rigorous process based on specific prerequisites and a narrative application. The process helps to ensure that we choose nannies who have the pups’ and wolves’ safety as their primary objective. The care the pups receive during their first few months shapes the outcome of their lives in captivity. Therefore we proactively work to minimize mistakes during the formative socialization period in the pups’ lives. When mistakes are made, it may affect the safety of the wolves and of the wolf care staff and the impact persists throughout the wolf’s life (typically 14 to 16 years for a captive wolf). We cannot overstate the importance of proper socialization, minimization of mistakes, and safety of the pups and exhibit pack during the introduction period.
Shadow’s confidence seems to be connected to Maya’s behavior. He is more relaxed and follows the actions of Grizzer and Maya, although, there is still a need for some strong vocalization to keep Grizzer in line. Shadow’s video this week shows some of that assertive behavior. Wolves have extensive vocalization patterns that may sound aggressive, but in fact, this strong communication probably reduces more serious dominance disputes. One of the reasons we chose the den camera as a location is to allow wolf care staff to monitor wolf actions when we are not in the enclosure. We can gleam dominance information by something as simple as who sleeps where. The Den is the highest vantage point in the enclosure and usually this place is reserved for the dominant wolf. Shadow has been taking this spot on a regular basis.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.